Goodbye 2020, hello 2021...

As 2020 comes to a close I'm excited for what lies ahead. 2020 was one hell-of-a year. I think if you asked anyone to describe 2020 in a single word one of the more common ones given would be crazy and I'm sure we could all agree that crazy would be an appropriate way to put it; but even as crazy as it was, it was an incredible year for me as an individual and Right to Protect as an organization.

In March of 2019 I founded Right to Protect, inspired by personal experience escaping my own abusive situation. 2019 would appear to have been about making sure that all of the formalities were taken care of for the organization and, though I've never done anything like this before, from what I've been told by others who have experience with these matters I accomplished quite a bit in a relatively short period of time. 2020 seems to have maintained that same momentum but this year would seem to have been all about getting my certifications.

I came into 2020 with my Breakthrough Parenting Instructor certification from May 2019 and in April this year I completed my certifications for Domestic Violence Advocate and Court Advocate. In May I completed my Batterers Intervention Facilitator certification. Come June I had acquired my Anger Management Specialist certification and registered with National Anger Management Association (NAMA) and California Association of Anger Management Providers (CAAMP). I would have gotten my Human Trafficking Advocate certification sooner had the course been offered before September but that is OK, I made it happen and looking back on all that I've accomplished I'm thinking that I probably needed the break anyway. Lol. And just when I thought I was finished for the year I saw an opportunity and took it as I wrapped up my certifications for 2020 with becoming a certified Firearms Instructor in November. 

Oooooooh-weee. Didn't I tell you that 2020 was an incredible year?! Yes I did, and I wasn't lying.

Though I do not know what lies ahead for Right to Protect in 2021 or beyond I am excited and encouraged by what we have been able to accomplish thus far with little to nothing as far as financial support (I have funded almost this entire operation out of my own pocket to date, with the exception of a few donations) and I believe that the financial support that we have gone without up to this point is something that we will not have to go without for much longer. We are small but we are fierce and we have been having an incredible impact in the lives of the clients that we have been blessed to serve as we are. I believe for that very reason it wont be long before we have the financial support necessary to make an even greater impact than we are now, because of the very impact we are having now.

May the best of your past be the worst of your future.

Happy New Year.